Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut: Winners, Losers from Tar Heels’ Blowout Loss to TCU Horned Frogs

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Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut: Winners, Losers from Tar Heels’ Blowout Loss to TCU Horned Frogs

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Tue, Sep 2, 2025 ·

7 min read

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The North Carolina Tar Heels went through an offseason of turmoil, massive roster turnover, chaos and even constant headlines about Bill Belichick and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson this offseason. On Monday night, Belichick finally coached his first college football game.

In the hours leading up to Belichick's head-coaching debut at North Carolina, ESPN had reported on some of the 'harsh' decisions and chaos that went on behind the scenes in his first nine months as a college coach. Monday night was the first real opportunity where the nation could see the early returns on Belichick's coaching of young student-athletes. It wasn't pretty.

Let's dive into the winners and losers from North Carolina's embarrassing loss to TCU on a national stage.

Winner: Jordan Dwyer, WR, TCU Horned Frogs

Bill Belichick, North Carolina Tar Heels, TCU Horned Frogs — Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

In Bill Belichick's final years as the New England Patriots head coach and general manager, he spent premium draft capital on wide receivers like Tyquan Thornton (50th overall pick in 2022) and N'Keal Harry (32nd overall pick in 2019). Perhaps that same 'talent' for wide receiver evaluation followed him to North Carolina. On Monday night, transfer wide receivers Nathan Leacock, Adrian Wilson , Dayton Sneed, Jason Robinson Jr, and Aziah Johnson didn't record a single catch in the first three quarters.

Jordan Dwyer stats ( ESPN ):9 receptions, 136 receiving yards, 1 touchdown

TCU wideout Jordan Dwyer, who was in the transfer portal this offseason out of Idaho, had over 100 receiving yards with a touchdown early in the third quarter. Credit to Dwyer, who, when facing a defense coached by one of the best defensive minds in the history of the game, made a name for himself with millions watching.

Loser: North Carolina Tar Heels OC Freddie Kitchens

Bill Belichick, North Carolina Tar Heels — Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Kenan Memorial Stadium was electric and the football world was buzzing early. Tar Heels' play-caller Freddie Kitchens had this offense cooking early, dialing up a seven-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. For a moment, it certainly looked like Belichick made the right hire at offensive coordinator. It turns out Kitchens had no answers after his scripted opening drive, and the Horned Frogs' defense made adjustments.

The Tar Heels' offense ended the first half with 20 total yards on 17 plays, with its lone pass completion returned for a pick-six. Now is a good time to mention that TCU's defense ranked 45th in total defense last season ( 345.6 total yards per game allowed ). While it's important not to overreact to a single game, the fact that Kitchens couldn't make adequate adjustments at halftime is alarming. We're also not going to give any credence to what Kitchens' offense did when it was a 41-7 game.

Winner: ESPN Cashes In

A year ago, ESPN broadcast a Week 1 matchup between Boston College and the Florida State Seminoles that averaged 4.4 million viewers. Ordinarily, the network tries to go for a marquee program to help pull in a big audience, even if it's not a great season-opening matchup. All they needed on Monday night was Belichick. While the TV ratings for TCU vs. North Carolina won't come out until later in the week, the buzz surrounding this game feels like it will have generated a massive audience that should clear 5 million viewers. Not only does ESPN get great TV ratings out of this game, but Belichick's collegiate coaching debut ending in a blowout will generate all the talking points and debate topics Get Up, SportsCenter and First Take need until the NFL season kicks off on Thursday. ESPN was a big winner tonight.

Loser: Gio Lopez, QB, North Carolina Tar Heels

We'll start by saying that Belichick and Kitchens did quarterback Gio Lopez no favors by not taking advantage of his mobility. Last season at South Alabama, Lopez rushed for 465 yards with 7 touchdowns and had a 5.6 yards-per-carry average. He did get off to a hot start on the opening drive, completing his first 2 passes for 58 yards. Unfortunately for Lopez, it was all downhill from there.

The Tar Heels' quarterback didn't complete his third pass attempt for more than two hours, literally. His lone touchdown of the night was a pick-six, the only pass he threw that was caught between the opening drive and midway through the third quarter. He later lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, with his two turnovers resulting in more points than the Tar Heels' offense scored with him at the helm for eight drives.

Gio Lopez stats:4-for-10, 69 passing yards, 0-1 TD-INT, 1 fumble lost, 2 sacks taken

If all of that wasn't bad enough for Lopez, after he left the game with an injury, North Carolina's backup quarterback Max Johnson immediately came in and went 7-for-8 for 81 yards and a touchdown. The reporting from the sidelines does raise some real concerns about Lopez's health. Knowing Belichick, though, we won't get a ton of clarity on the nature of the injury.

Winner: Bud Clark, S, TCU Horned Frogs

TCU's defense certainly responded after an ugly game-opening drive, but the home crowd at Kenan Memorial Stadium was still bringing it in the second quarter when it was a 10-7 game. That's when Horned Frogs safety Bud Clark snatched the life out of the stadium, picking off Lopez and making a 25-yard house call. It felt like a turning point for the game. On a night when everyone was excited to see Belichick's defense, it was a TCU defender who essentially drove a dagger into the Tar Heels' heart.

Loser: Bill Belichick's Team Gets Embarrassed

The symmetry of Bill Belichick's collegiate head-coaching debut coming exactly 34 years to the day after he made his NFL head-coaching debut is incredible. Before the game, the Tar Heels' coach told ESPN's Holly Rowe that he hoped it went better than that game, a 26-14 win by the Dallas Cowboys over Belichick's Browns. It did not, not even close.

Ironically, Belichick's team scored the first touchdown in that game and then was outscored by double digits in the final three quarters. Just over three decades later, Belichick watched from the sidelines as TCU turned a 7-0 deficit early in the first quarter into a 41-7 beatdown midway through the third.

This is the team Belichick built. The Tar Heels coaching staff, from Kitchens as play-caller to Steve Belichick as defensive coordinator, was hand-picked by Belichick. North Carolina let him completely overhaul the roster, bringing in players he believed would turn this team around. Instead, the Tar Heels were embarrassed and the home crowd left early in the third quarter. It's also impossible to ignore all the mental mistakes by Belichick's team; missed tackles, multiple turnovers and mental mistakes. I'm sure we'll get a "We're on to Charlotte" in the post-game press conference.

Winner: Max Johnson, QB, North Carolina Tar Heels

We wanted to find one positive from this game for North Carolina. Thankfully, quarterback Max Johnson made that easy. Just one year ago, in his first start as the Tar Heels' quarterback, Johnson suffered a catastrophic leg injury. He suffered a broken femur, and there were initial concerns that the leg might need to be amputated. Thankfully, he made a full recovery and stuck with the Tar Heels even after Belichick brought in Lopez via the transfer portal to become the starter. Johnson stood by this program, and when Lopez went down on Monday night, he came in and played extremely well. Kudos to Johnson for overcoming a near career-ending injury, sticking by his teammates, and providing them and the fan base with something to feel good about on an otherwise miserable night.

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